Tweva, isn’t the soil from the pond sludge going to harden into a rock? Just wondering how you keep it from drying out so it stays able to support plants. Maybe your pond sludge is…sludgier…than mine. Once my stuff leaves the pond, it gets hard and cracks. Must be the difference in soils that you take out.

I have spent my week continuing with the outdoor kitchen, but mostly working up my raised beds and getting them ready for planting. I set in 8′ T-posts that will hold 4×16′ panels of hog panels that I will use for trellises in my raised beds. After putting in 10 posts, I sadly surveyed the popped blisters on the palm of my hand and came to the conclusion – too late – that gloves would have been appropriate for the job. Too late! Now the weeding has become more painful than a sore back and tender, spring-time muscles. It includes dirt in my blisters and OUCH, I wish this part of the gardening to be finished! I have LOTS left to do and the plants and seeds are calling my name.

My asparagus is caged this year in fencing that is wrapped in cylinders and now it stands over 8′ tall and is as thick as a stand of young trees. You can’t see through it anymore, and it is blooming.

So the race is on to do all the spring work before it is no longer spring. The garden and the chickens are consuming my life – and, yes, the outdoor kitchen is right there, too.

Meantime, my husband is teaching my daughter to weld. I want to learn, too, but it will have to wait till I have a break from the crazy, hectic work that needs to be done.

Libbylindy – this was really a runoff pond – very shallow – that to the city owners dismay, had the nerve to dry up in the summers (and then smell lovely). They were going to spend thousands to add bentonite clay to ‘try and seal the bottom’, when the real problem is there is no source of water but…well rain and runoff! Goofy people. So, they are making the pond deeper, bigger and connecting it to another pond close by that actually has a real year round water source. They are doing all this because the ‘runoff’ pond is part of the’ view’ from the back patio – the ‘real’ pond can’t be seen. Anyway, thus I’m getting a good mixture of soil. Yes, if I were to dredge my pond the silt is so fine it too would harden like a rock! They want to spend money like that great for me ’cause I am getting free dirt and no transport cost!

Here you about the garden – if I get everything ready to plant in a few other raised beds I have I probably won’t be able to feel my hands!

.223 is so plentiful here. Its the .308 you don’t see much of in quantity. I’ve decided to quit reloading, unless I really need the ammo. Its the crimp thing I worry most about in auto. Getting a recessed bullet or squib is scary especially in rapid fire. Recently I took .223 I reloaded a while ago 2000 rds. before I got a new electronic scale and started looking for too heavy or too light rounds. I found a bunch way out of spec ( about 10-20) many I overcharged with powder I presume. It could be the brass but it was all new from the same company. So I narrowed down all my rounds to a closer weight range. Next I’m going to recrimp them with another die just to be sure. Human error in reloading is a real bugger and I’ve made my share of mistakes lol.

Absolutely nothing! Spring around here is a busy time, getting all the winter damage repaired, maintenance tasks done, gardens weeded, ready to plant – fields limed etc. One thing after another. Oh, and then there’s, you know, work that pays the bills.

There’s nothing like having a whole bunch of relatives show up for a few days (family reunion and a wedding) to make you do all the stuff you’ve been putting off doing – because something else was more important.

But! It did force me to organize a bunch of stuff/preps I had collected/purchased and just placed in a pile. Got some more storage shelves built – stuff/tools returned to their rightful placed where I can find them. Actually, sat down and added things to the inventory list of stuff on hand as well. I am so proud of myself – it’s boring so I put it off usually.

Place never looked so good and so organized. Actually got all garden beds weeded/planted/mulched/fertilized. Now my hands hurt! Feels good though to be organized and more ‘together’.

Clams are great. So are the mussels and crabs. When I lived in Maine some spots were used heavily so the yield could be low. I could always find clams along the edge of rocks where the other clammers seemed to stay away from. There was a place we would frequent with a tidal rip that headed each way based on the tide. It was created by a narrow waterway feeding a large lagoon. Because of the strong current no one harvested the narrows, the bottom was totally covered with sea life. For about 20 minutes there was a slack tide on each tidal shift that would provide easy access to the bottom without fear of being swept away. (If you could stand the cold water)

This week finds me in the garden, tending to my veggies and herbs. I just planted a bunch of new stuff this week: chicory, black eyed peas, cucumbers, squash, Jelly Melons, okra, and beets. They are in the newly finished beds or in the beds that other stuff has vacated. Can’t wait to do some canning. My beans are growing, as are the tomatoes, herbs, asparagus, sweet potatoes, zucchini, red and white potatoes, peppers, Roselle, spinach, chard and herbs. I am still working on the outdoor canning kitchen. It is all enclosed and we are getting ready to do the concrete floor. We are debating whether to have it done for us or struggle through it ourselves. The lights have been installed, the propane gas is finished, and some of the outlets have been placed and are working.

That pretty much wraps up the week. I should be out doing my clearing of weeds in my unfinished beds and applying mulch, but I fell and hurt my toe that I just had surgery on! Bummer! So that has set me back this week and I have to wait a few days/weeks to get out of the fracture boot. Then I can hit it again. Meanwhile………..

Nirvana!
Got to chatting with a dude while waiting in a line. Guy was a truck driver for a company that hauls out manure from all the big horse farms around here. (Sad isn’t it that this has become a rather big business. They dump the manure in roll-offs and someone hauls it off). Anyway, guy told me this was a first for him. He just picked up a truck load (we are talking double axle dump truck like would hold 20 or more tons of gravel) of rabbit manure. Place sold meat rabbits for years – new owners – tearing down barns/sheds and turning in to ‘yard’!

Anyway – a dump truck load of aged rabbit manure – for $50! YEAH! (You can put rabbit manure directly on your garden – no aging required). Anyway, it goes for about $10-15 for a feed sack full around here. I generate my own but never have enough. To me, this is one big huge present! This will last me a good long while. Can never have enough manure stockpiled when you grow lots of stuff.

I have been super, super busy these last few weeks! We are making progress on my outdoor canning kitchen – all the plumbing and electrical are finished, lights installed, and we are scheduled for concrete floor to be poured on Friday. Hallelujah! I am so excited. This has been a very long journey of converting a space that was trashed into something very usable and needed. If all goes well, I will be canning in a couple weeks after the concrete has cured and is sealed. It is the last thing to get done. Well, the cabinets/countertop needs to go in, but that will not take long. That is great because I have a bunch of canning that is waiting to get done. No more trying to can outside in the sun, wind and rain!

Tweva, I would love to fall into your good find of manure. I am using the last scrapings that I have of well rotted horse manure. Now I have to find more and haul it in. Actually, I am going to try (am trying) the Back To Eden method and will see how that works for me. I tried the route of straw added to the soil and I have created a monster of weeds. I will be weeding it out for the next several years.

Mostly now, I have the manure from my chickens and will use that instead of the horse manure that I have to haul in. The only problem is that the garden is big and my girls have a hard time keeping up with it. In the fall, I will have the stuff from their yard that I can use and they will start on a new batch for me for next year. I need more chickens!

Libby,
You pretty much need a front end loader to turn horse manure into good compost. Having said that if you mix soil, water into the manure, then re mix and repile it after it has cooked down it will cook the seeds.